SAMHSA’s new Treatment Improvement Protocol 63, “Medications for Opioid Use Disorder,” helps behavioral healthcare professionals broaden their understanding of the three FDA-approved medications—methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine—used to help treat Americans with opioid use disorder, as well as the other strategies and services needed to support recovery for people with opioid use disorder.

TIP 63 had significant input from researchers, clinicians, and information specialists affiliated with the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute and the Pacific NW Node of NIDA's Clinical Trials Network (CTN). Ron Jackson, MSW, LICSW and Andrew Saxon, MD served on the Expert Panel to help develop the TIP via a consensus-driven, collaborative process that blends evidence-based, best, and promising practices with the panel’s expertise and combined wealth of experience.

In addition, field reviewers for this TIP included Meg Brunner, MLIS from ADAI and the CTN Dissemination Library, Alison Newman, MPH (ADAI) and Mary Catlin, RN, MPH, CIC, (DOH and ADAI). The field review allows people who work in addiction, mental health, and adjacent fields to gauge the TIP’s relevance, utility, accuracy, and accessibility.

You'll find new content for first responders about “Leave Behind” Naloxone, highlighting Tacoma Fire Department’s new program to carry naloxone (NARCAN®) on their rigs. View the TFD staff training video below.

The webinar and new content is just the beginning of the discussion about Overdose Follow-up in Washington State. Please contact Alison at the Center for Opioid Safety Education if you have ideas for topics to cover in future webinars or training, or other information that you would find helpful in planning programs in your community.

TOMORROW (Feb. 28, 12:00-1:00pm): The 2nd in a series of monthly webinars from ADAI's Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NWATTC) will feature psychologist Michelle Peavy, who will examine patient-centered care in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) setting. Find out about future NWATTC webinars

ADAI Principal Research Scientist Caleb Banta-Green appeared on the KBTC TV program Northwest Now on Feb. 16, to talk about the epidemic of opioid use and overdose, and what can be done to stop the alarming addiction and death rate related to these drugs. WATCH NOW

Dennis Donovan, ADAI Director, was interviewed by KING TV about the comparative risks of marijuana and heroin, and the fear that legalization will lead to increased use of marijuana. WATCH NOW

Beyond Brownies and Joints: Product Development and Advertising in the Legal Era was the topic of a webinar by ADAI Senior Research Scientist Bia Carlini, for the Washington Association of Prevention Coalitions and Prevention WINS. VIEW on YouTube

Presenter K. Michelle Peavy, PhD will examine the concept of patient-centered care in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) setting. She will describe a treatment model that leverages patient-centered care components and enhances retention among individuals who struggle with ongoing drug use, and discuss clinical implications of that model. Dr. Peavy is a licensed clinical psychologist in the role of Research and Training Manager at Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS), an OTP located in Seattle, WA.

Along with the increase of opioid-related deaths seen all over the country, visits to hospital emergency departments (ED) and inpatient admissions related to opioid use have increased dramatically over the years, reflecting the increase in non-fatal overdose cases.

Hospital ED and acute care settings are potentially important settings to reach people vulnerable to opioid overdose that may not access healthcare in other settings, such as substance use disorder treatment centers or primary care.

A NIDA-funded clinical trial led by ADAI Principal Research Scientist Caleb Banta-Greentested an overdose prevention intervention for opioid users seen in the Emergency Departments of Seattle's Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center. The intervention combined opioid overdose education, a take-home naloxone kit, and brief behavior change counseling. The research team wanted to test the impact of the intervention on participants’ subsequent opioid overdoses, ED visits, and hospitalizations.

The study found that the overdose prevention intervention had no statistically significant impact on subsequent overdoses, either positive or negative. This null finding is perhaps not surprising given the severity of medical and social problems of the population in terms of homelessness, drug use and other health and social issues. A brief, one-time intervention in acute care settings or subsequent to receiving acute care may not be sufficient to reduce serious overdose events. Study participants also had very high rates of subsequent emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and warrant more intensive interventions.

The M-Files website is a public information resource by the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NW HIDTA), sponsored by the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy. HIDTA's mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs by promoting education, treatment, and prevention programs, and to improve collaboration with law enforcement and the justice system to end drug trafficking and drug-related violent crime.

Because the scope of HIDTA's work includes drug trafficking and other criminal justice aspects of illicit drug use, M-Files includes information not often found on many general drug information sites, e.g. national and regional Threat Assessment reports, and sections describing the collaborative work of law enforcement agencies and the role of drug courts in getting people into treatment instead of prison. The M-Files.org website is maintained by the UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) under a contract from NW HIDTA.

The Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center is a new SAMHSA-funded center at the University of Washington Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, serving the addiction workforce in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. In January 2018, NWATTC launched a monthly webinar series with "Introducing the New Northwest NWATTC," presenting information about the center's staff, mission and strategic vision for the coming years. Future webinars will be on the last Wednesday each month, presenting a variety of topics and speakers from the region.

Of the approximately 4 million U.S. service members who took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many began experiencing mental health problems upon their return from deployment. They developed conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance use disorder, and in particular, suicide—at higher rates than the general population.

ADAI Director Dr. Dennis Donovan participated in a national committee to review and evaluate mental health services available to U.S. veterans, resulting in a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The committee conducted site visits and sought input on the use of VA mental health services directly from veterans of these wars, their families and caregivers, health care providers, and others at each of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks across the U.S.

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn.

The survey found a lack of awareness about how to connect with the VA for mental health care; not knowing how to apply for VA mental health care benefits; being unsure if they are eligible; and lack of awareness that the VA offers these benefits.

Other barriers to seeking VA mental health care services include lack of transportation options to and convenience of medical facility locations; concerns about taking time off work and potentially harming their careers; and fears that discrimination could lead to a loss of contact with or custody of their children, or lead to a loss of medical or disability benefits.

After reviewing the relevant published literature, conducting site visits, and surveying veterans, the report makes recommendations for examining best practices for VA facilities to forge community partnerships, addressing workforce shortages, and developing and implementing standardized performance measures to assess and improve care for veterans with mental health conditions.

Local medication take-back laws in Washington are working to help address the opioid crisis and prevent poisonings, suicides, and overdoses. In Washington State, King and Snohomish Counties have implemented successful programs, and efforts are being made to expand the programs statewide.

The pharmaceutical industry is providing a DEA-compliant drug take-back program for safe collection and disposal of household medicines in several counties, with convenient medicine drop boxes in drug stores, grocery stores, medical centers, and police stations.

WATCH: this video from the Association of Washington Cities.

(In the interest of full disclosure, Brenda Stuvek from ADAI volunteered to help with the video, demonstrating the take-back boxes -- she's the one in the purple sweater! Thanks, Brenda, for helping to bring attention to this public health effort!)